By Mark McGivern & Zahra Khaliq
A Christian charity has come under fire after preaching ‘anti-women’ views “straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale”, it has been reported.
In a sermon titled ‘Submit and Love’, Reverend Chris Demetriou told worshippers that a wife “should submit to her husband’s leadership” because “that’s the Lord’s pattern for us”. He added marriage with a wife at the head “will not reach its full potential” - instead, women should be subservient women and duly submit to their husbands “out of obedience to Christ”.
The male pastor, of Rosyth Baptist Church, Scotland, sparked outrage after preaching material that undermines Humza Yousaf’s current efforts to end sexism in Scotland. One campaigner likened the teachings to 'The Handmaid's Tale' - a book, then hit TV series, in which women are held in captivity by men and treated as nothing but breeding machines.
Reverend Demetriou's preachings, which take literal lessons from the Old Testament, have prompted the fury of the Secular Society, which has been campaigning against bodies with ‘extreme’ and potentially harmful religious views becoming charities. The organisation complained to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), claiming the sermon is “misogynistic, discriminatory against women and perpetuates sexist tropes”.
It comes as First Minister Humza Yousaf held a round table meeting addressing the treatment of women and promoting positive masculinity.
NSS campaigns officer Alejandro Sanchez told the Daily Record: “Mr Demetriou’s vision of a world of female subservience is straight out of The Handmaid’s Tale. It is misogyny like this that underpins the abuse and coercive control of women, which the Scottish government says it is committed to ending.”
He added: “In return for generous tax breaks, charities are meant to provide a public benefit and not cause likely detriment or harm. If ‘the advancement of religion’ enables charities to promote misogyny with impunity, it should be removed from the register of charitable purposes.”
Demetriou has also said if a wife thinks her husband is making a mistake, she “is to express why because she is looking out for him” and "look to persuade him". But while a husband “should listen to his wife”, it is “his responsibility to lead”. The sermon ends with a prayer by Demetriou who hopes "that we will let our husbands lead”. The church re-registered last month as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation with OSCR for "the advancement of religion".
A charity watchdog claims that such extreme views promote lawbreaking. NSS argues that the harmful sermons encourage “coercive and controlling” behaviour - illegal under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018. The NSS said it was “especially concerning” that young children attending would be exposed to the teachings. Rosyth Baptist Church also runs a Kingdom Kids group, for infants and older children to learn the ways of the Old Testament. Julie Demetriou, wife of the pastor, runs a mums and tots group at the church called Bloom.
The OSCR’s guidance says registered charities must actively provide benefits, and may fail the charity test if it causes “likely detriment or harm”. An OSCR spokesperson said: "OSCR cannot intervene in the activities of religious charities seeking to promote their religious beliefs unless their activities have the clear and direct effect of harming others or otherwise breach the law."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister has made clear we all have a collective duty to work together to promote a positive male identity so that we can tackle the toxic traits we see far too often in our society, and that women are far too often the victims of.”
Rev Demetrius and his wife Julie have been asked to comment.
